Carter pleads, gets 30 years

Murder case dismissed with assault plea

SAN ANGELO, Texas - A 25-year-old San Angelo man accused of killing an infant girl pleaded guilty to a different charge and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

A jury trial for Atreyo Arzak Carter III had been scheduled for April, but at a plea hearing Thursday he admitted to injuring Andrea Hernandez by "striking her head against a hardened surface," according to a judgment filed in the Tom Green County District Clerk's Office.

Carter is in the Tom Green County Jail, where he's been held on a $1 million bail since his arrest April 25, 2012. Initially, he told San Angelo police that the girl, who was about one year old, had fallen off the bed while she was in his care, according to court documents.

Kori Martinez had left Andrea and her two siblings — 7 months and 5 years old — alone with Carter at the Travelodge in the 4200 block South Bryant Boulevard, according to a complaint.

The documents said that when Martinez returned to the room, she found Andrea "cold, limp and apparently lifeless with foam coming out of her mouth as she lay on the bed."

The child died later that day at San Angelo Community Medical Center. According to court documents, officers noticed the child's body showed signs of physical abuse — numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises.

Carter was arrested on a first-degree murder charge, which has now been dismissed in light of the injury to a child conviction.

John S. Young represented Carter. Bryan Clayton, 119th first assistant district attorney, prosecuted the case.

The obituary the family submitted to the Standard-Times listed the child's father as Dwight Martin. Andrea's mother, Eristeá Hernandez, was in jail on an assault charge when the crime occurred.

An autopsy performed by the Lubbock County medical examiner determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

According to a San Angelo Police Department news release, the infant suffered "multiple skull fractures" while in the care of Carter, who allegedly never sought medical care for the child.

The 5-year-old girl who was present during the alleged abuse was interviewed at the Tom Green County CAC/Hope House by forensic interviewer Miranda Gonzales. According to the affidavit, the girl told Gonzales that Carter had been "throwing Andrea into the air, biting her and ‘whooping' Andrea. The girl was not to tell anyone about the abuse for fear of also being ‘whooped.' "

Thursday, about 20 family and friends, including people from the day care where Andrea stayed, appeared in court, Eristea Hernandez said.

The group wore T-shirts that said "be a hero, stand up to child abuse" on the front and "forever in our hearts Andrea Hernandez" on the back, Hernandez said.

The family has been selling the shirts to raise money for Andrea's headstone.

Hernandez got a call Wednesday afternoon about the Thursday morning plea, but said at the time they didn't realize Carter wasn't pleading to murder.

"We were very upset about that," she said.

Clayton said the change in the charge was a way to approach the case toward a resolution. Both charges are aggravated offenses and first-degree felonies, which means the punishment range is the same.

Carter was more willing to say he inflicted a serious injury and hadn't meant to kill the child, Clayton said.

"Time, to me, is what's important," he said. "And from a purely punishment perspective it makes no difference which one he pleaded to."

Both charges are first-degree felonies punishable by five to 99 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

Clayton applauded the Police Department and Detective Brian Elkins on his work in the case — a large portion of which depended on the testimony of a then-5-year-old witness.

That girl remains in therapy and because of mental delays her "verbal skills are not the best," Clayton said. He was afraid if she were to get on the stand and "freeze up" before a jury, it would increase the likelihood that Carter would be found not guilty.